Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

imidazol97

roadburner said:

My ice covered driveway now has a coating of several inches of snow. My Wrangler is fitted with BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO1 tires- they are what Tire Rack refers to as All-Weather tires- non-winter tires that are marked with the three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) symbol.. So fat I haven't used 4WD yet unless I'm trying to get stuck.
The Clubman also wears All-Weather rubber-the Vredestein Quatrac 5-and it also handles the ice and snow with no problem; ground clearance is the primary limitation.
The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires on the M235i also work surprisingly well, you just need to be patient and smooth with control inputs.

I hope you're not in the danger zone for more ice. The NWS Wilmington OH has modified their ice potential zone almost parallel to I71. The more northwestward than earlier predicted.

I guess the good side is those folks will get less snow which here is total 8 to 12 or so possible.

It's the wind tomorrow night that I don't like with light snow drifting. And 5 deg F. But that's only probably 75 degrees below the temperature in W. Palm Beach.

driver100

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

ab348 said:

The link Mike posted earlier to the Honda forum dealing with the vibration problem seems to draw a correlation between the vibration and an overly low idle speed. The low idle is what the factory calls for but apparently is the source of the problem. They note that if the AC is turned on the computer increases the idle to compensate and the vibration goes away. If the computer is updated to make idle just slightly higher the vibration disappears. But that is not something the dealer apparently will do so it needs to be done at an indie shop with the proper gizmo.

Thanks ab....that was actually my post from yesterday. I think I will start a new career as an auto technician;

driver100 Burlington, ON 7 mo/Tampa FL 5 moPosts: 28,136
February 14 edited February 14
@abacomike You hit on the usual suspects, motor or transmission mounts.
There are some less likely culprits....doing a bit of research this guy said:
After some slight re-scaling of the airflow sensor the car was able to hit the target idle of 720. It was still a little rough for me though so I turned it up to 800rpm, and now it actually feels like a new car idling.
Remember, I don't know much, just trying to help. Could it be bad gasoline or water in the gas (real long shot...but might be gas flow related)? Agree about going to another dealer though.

https://www.civicx.com/forum/threads/vibration-on-idle.11843/

This really helped to identify the problem facing many Civic owners. I send the link to my daughter so she could print the discussions and submit the printed concerns to the service manager.

Your very welcome....still just a possibility. It seems that Ab found that Honda dealers won't mess with that, might have to check with an indie guy.

driver100

The snow so far...and could be another 10 inches tonight.....from Texas - thanks guys!

jmonroe1

snakeweasel said:

jmonroe1 said:

snakeweasel said:

jmonroe1 said:

snakeweasel said:

jmonroe1 said:

roadburner said:

I risked it all last night- I drove my RWD(Gasp!) 2er into town to pick up a case for my wife's new iPhone SE. I was constantly gripped by terror as I felt the icy fingers of death straining to reach me.
Then I drove it again today; I'm going to need to lie down for a while, the stress has just been too much...

Yep some of us like to live on the edge. I decided not to use the snow blower on my driveway about a month ago when we had about 8 inches of snow. I don’t drive the rear wheel drive Genny when there is a chance that I’d have to live with the consequences of salt so it stays put in the garage. Mrs. j’s Subie was made for snow so I use it. It plowed through that 8 inches with no problem so I haven’t touched the 3 inches that is there now. About an hour ago Mrs. j asked if I was going to remove that measly amount because we could get 5 or 6 inches by tomorrow morning. I told her I’d let her snow plow take care of that. Her response was “what’s wrong with your precious car. Is it afraid of snow”? I paused then said, “yeah, what’s it to ya”? That almost earned me a lap or two around the table.

Sometimes a guy has to suck it up and live on the edge. Regardless of the outcome.

jmonroe

Tip of the day, on snowy days you can change your RWD car to a FWD car fast and inexpensively simply by driving it in reverse.

Never thought of that but it would be very risky at night. And here’s another benefit of what you propose... that’s a good way to unwind the odometer. Unfortunately this now gives our poster buddy @oldfarmer50 something else to consider when buying a hooptie on CL. Now see what you’ve done?

jmonroe

Risky at night (sounds like whisky at night, that's good) why do you think they put those white lights on the back that go on when you go into reverse?

Driving backwards won't unwind an odometer (haven't you learned anything from Ferris Bueller?). Actually I do believe it will advance the odometer, it did on the Chrysler.

Those little back up lights would only get you pulled over around here because of the lack of illumination. I’d be better off driving without lights in my hood, which seems to have been in vogue for a while now around here.

Yeah, I was waiting to see if you caught that “unwinding” comment. Mrs. j’s Subie seems to record mileage whenever the car is moving in forward or reverse. Never checked it in my Genny but I suspect it works just like the Subie. Might even be like that for all cars nowadays.

jmonroe

A few years back with the Sebring I pulled into the garage and noticed that my odometer was reading 123,456 miles. The next morning as I back out of the driveway it was far enough that it was reading 123,457 when I put in into drive out in the street. I do suspect that it works that way on any car as it is miles put on a car. Which begs the question of how many miles does a typical car drive in reverse? Just a quick calculation if I drove my car to work each day allowing for vacations, holidays and the like I would log 2.8 miles of backward driving in a year just backing out of my driveway to go to work.

You could save those 2.8 miles by not backing out of your garage. Did you ever think about backing into it instead.

jmonroe

roadburner

imidazol97 said:

roadburner said:

My ice covered driveway now has a coating of several inches of snow. My Wrangler is fitted with BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO1 tires- they are what Tire Rack refers to as All-Weather tires- non-winter tires that are marked with the three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) symbol.. So fat I haven't used 4WD yet unless I'm trying to get stuck.
The Clubman also wears All-Weather rubber-the Vredestein Quatrac 5-and it also handles the ice and snow with no problem; ground clearance is the primary limitation.
The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires on the M235i also work surprisingly well, you just need to be patient and smooth with control inputs.

I hope you're not in the danger zone for more ice. The NWS Wilmington OH has modified their ice potential zone almost parallel to I71. The more northwestward than earlier predicted.

I guess the good side is those folks will get less snow which here is total 8 to 12 or so possible.

It's the wind tomorrow night that I don't like with light snow drifting. And 5 deg F. But that's only probably 75 degrees below the temperature in W. Palm Beach.

We are on the snow/sleet dividing line so hopefully we will avoid any more ice. We are supposed to get another round of winter weather Thursday and then we should hit the forties after Saturday.

abacomike

driver100 said:

The snow so far...and could be another 10 inches tonight.....from Texas - thanks guys!

OUCH!!! My aching back is bothering me just looking at that snow! 🤪😜🤓

jmonroe1

roadburner said:

imidazol97 said:

roadburner said:

My ice covered driveway now has a coating of several inches of snow. My Wrangler is fitted with BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO1 tires- they are what Tire Rack refers to as All-Weather tires- non-winter tires that are marked with the three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) symbol.. So fat I haven't used 4WD yet unless I'm trying to get stuck.
The Clubman also wears All-Weather rubber-the Vredestein Quatrac 5-and it also handles the ice and snow with no problem; ground clearance is the primary limitation.
The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires on the M235i also work surprisingly well, you just need to be patient and smooth with control inputs.

I hope you're not in the danger zone for more ice. The NWS Wilmington OH has modified their ice potential zone almost parallel to I71. The more northwestward than earlier predicted.

I guess the good side is those folks will get less snow which here is total 8 to 12 or so possible.

It's the wind tomorrow night that I don't like with light snow drifting. And 5 deg F. But that's only probably 75 degrees below the temperature in W. Palm Beach.

We are on the snow/sleet dividing line so hopefully we will avoid any more ice. We are supposed to get another round of winter weather Thursday and then we should hit the forties after Saturday.

Wow, “hit the forties”. How do you folks improve your swing like that?

jmonroe

jmonroe1

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

The snow so far...and could be another 10 inches tonight.....from Texas - thanks guys!

OUCH!!! My aching back is bothering me just looking at that snow! 🤪😜🤓

Kinda like making us northerners blood boil when you rub it in. :@

jmonroe

snakeweasel

imidazol97 said:

roadburner said:

My ice covered driveway now has a coating of several inches of snow. My Wrangler is fitted with BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO1 tires- they are what Tire Rack refers to as All-Weather tires- non-winter tires that are marked with the three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) symbol.. So fat I haven't used 4WD yet unless I'm trying to get stuck.
The Clubman also wears All-Weather rubber-the Vredestein Quatrac 5-and it also handles the ice and snow with no problem; ground clearance is the primary limitation.
The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires on the M235i also work surprisingly well, you just need to be patient and smooth with control inputs.

I hope you're not in the danger zone for more ice. The NWS Wilmington OH has modified their ice potential zone almost parallel to I71. The more northwestward than earlier predicted.

I guess the good side is those folks will get less snow which here is total 8 to 12 or so possible.

It's the wind tomorrow night that I don't like with light snow drifting. And 5 deg F. But that's only probably 75 degrees below the temperature in W. Palm Beach.

We are at the back end of this storm. Right now all the snow is to the south but it's forecasted to move north. I am so sick of this weather and why am I shoveling snow in subzero weather in the middle of February? The average high this time of year is 35 degrees.

snakeweasel

Speaking of winter weather here is the wine we had for yesterday's Valentine's dinner in its cooler.

driver100

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

The snow so far...and could be another 10 inches tonight.....from Texas - thanks guys!

OUCH!!! My aching back is bothering me just looking at that snow! 🤪😜🤓

Mine is bothering me and I shoveled it off so the deck wouldn't break, it must weigh a ton.
I wish I was in Florida this winter too, I would probably have my covid shot by now as well.
Most winters we get about 5 snowfalls, maximum 4 inches average 16 inches of snow....this winter we've had about 15 snowfalls, total of 40 inches so far with at least 10 more overnight and more later in the week.
Global warming :@

driver100

snakeweasel said:

Speaking of winter weather here is the wine we had for yesterday's Valentine's dinner in its cooler.

Don't you own a refrigerator?

jmonroe1

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

Speaking of winter weather here is the wine we had for yesterday's Valentine's dinner in its cooler.

Don't you own a refrigerator?

Here we go. I bet dishwashers will be next.

jmonroe

imidazol97

Those of us in the snow belt(s) for Uri are getting our share of snow now.

I saw this severe weather alert for Florida on the weatherchannel.com sit.
It's hard to get sympathetic unless they're getting 3-5 inches of snow tonight...

driver100

jmonroe1 said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

Speaking of winter weather here is the wine we had for yesterday's Valentine's dinner in its cooler.

Don't you own a refrigerator?

Here we go. I bet dishwashers will be next.

jmonroe

.....speaking of which....does your dishwasher match your other appliances or did you do one of those whatever color is on sale things you did with the washer/dryer?

driver100

imidazol97 said:

Those of us in the snow belt(s) for Uri are getting our share of snow now.

I saw this severe weather alert for Florida on the weatherchannel.com sit.
It's hard to get sympathetic unless they're getting 3-5 inches of snow tonight...

Maybe I am better off here rather than being in Tampa!

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

Speaking of winter weather here is the wine we had for yesterday's Valentine's dinner in its cooler.

Don't you own a refrigerator?

Yes we do plus we have a wine cooler. Just like this seems like the fastest way to do it.

jmonroe1

driver100 said:

jmonroe1 said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

Speaking of winter weather here is the wine we had for yesterday's Valentine's dinner in its cooler.

Don't you own a refrigerator?

Here we go. I bet dishwashers will be next.

jmonroe

.....speaking of which....does your dishwasher match your other appliances or did you do one of those whatever color is on sale things you did with the washer/dryer?

Sorry to disappoint you but when we redid the kitchen in January 2010 we got all stainless steel appliances but no two are from the same manufacturer. Is there a slight difference in the display colors, yes, but when I squint I can hardly see the difference. FWIW, I think the LG microwave will croak soon because I’ve heard popping sounds a few times, and no, I wasn’t making popcorn.

jmonroe

sda

snakeweasel said:

Speaking of winter weather here is the wine we had for yesterday's Valentine's dinner in its cooler.

It’s too cold to be outside Barefoot. Oh, that’s the wine.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

@steine13 At least with paper currency the government more or less will stand behind it.

How is the government going to back it? With what are they backing it with? In other words if you take your paper money to the government to exchange it what would you get for it? The answer is nothing. Your paper money only has value to the extent that people have trust in it, just like bitcoins.

How much in bitcoins do you have?
How many U.S. Dollars do you have?
If you buy $100 worth of groceries will the store accept your bitcoins? Will they accept your U.S. Dollars?

#1. None.
#2. Not as much as I have in Bitcoins.
#3. They could if they want to.
#4. No law says they have to.

Bitcoins don't have a government devaluing it by printing out tons of it.

1)Will the government accept your tax payment...in Bitcoins?
2)Will the government accept your tax payment...in U.S. dollars.

Which government, I’m sure some would. Craigslist has a box on the car sales page where it asks if you’ll accept crypto currency.

oldfarmer50

ab348 said:

The link Mike posted earlier to the Honda forum dealing with the vibration problem seems to draw a correlation between the vibration and an overly low idle speed. The low idle is what the factory calls for but apparently is the source of the problem. They note that if the AC is turned on the computer increases the idle to compensate and the vibration goes away. If the computer is updated to make idle just slightly higher the vibration disappears. But that is not something the dealer apparently will do so it needs to be done at an indie shop with the proper gizmo.

Speaking of vibrations, we had to take three Camarys out of our far north location today. Every one of them shook like the dickens if you got over 30. As near as we could figure these cars were sitting in a snow bank for weeks and ice had collected in the wheels causing a severe imbalance. After about 50 miles the shaking went away.

oldfarmer50

imidazol97 said:

My 08 Cobalt 2.2 L NA idles smoothly with and without the AC on. It keeps the same idle speed in both circumstances. It reminded me of the Toyota models that were sold in GM showrooms in the late 90s, if I recall the time period. The engine on those was so smooth a glass of water set on the engine barely rippled. Amazingly smooth at the time.

My 14 Malibu 2.5 L with direction injection cannot be felt while idling.

My suspicions would go to some of the settings, hardware or software, for some of the valve timing adjustments that are made on the engines while running. The 2.5 L NA Chevy engine uses a solenoid for the intake valve timing and one for the exhaust valve timing. Those for some people have failed giving an engine code. On the GM engine there's a third valve the controls the oil pressure going to those solenoids that has failed on some.

The extreme engineering on engines has meant a lot of places for something to go wrong. And it takes a good computer engineer to find them. I really can't fault any company for failures, as long as they actively try to determine what's wrong rather than blaming the owner or blaming "that's the way they all are."

I recall a drinking buddy from back in the 70s who had maybe a 74 leMans. The Pontiac dealer just raised the exit door for the drive through write up lane when he kept coming back with problems about the car. "Just go on out the door 'cause we ain't gonna try to fix nothin'," was the implication.

For smooth I’ll take the Mitsu engine in my Sebring any day. For desirable vibration I’ll take the Mustang.

oldfarmer50

jmonroe1 said:

snakeweasel said:

jmonroe1 said:

roadburner said:

I risked it all last night- I drove my RWD(Gasp!) 2er into town to pick up a case for my wife's new iPhone SE. I was constantly gripped by terror as I felt the icy fingers of death straining to reach me.
Then I drove it again today; I'm going to need to lie down for a while, the stress has just been too much...

Yep some of us like to live on the edge. I decided not to use the snow blower on my driveway about a month ago when we had about 8 inches of snow. I don’t drive the rear wheel drive Genny when there is a chance that I’d have to live with the consequences of salt so it stays put in the garage. Mrs. j’s Subie was made for snow so I use it. It plowed through that 8 inches with no problem so I haven’t touched the 3 inches that is there now. About an hour ago Mrs. j asked if I was going to remove that measly amount because we could get 5 or 6 inches by tomorrow morning. I told her I’d let her snow plow take care of that. Her response was “what’s wrong with your precious car. Is it afraid of snow”? I paused then said, “yeah, what’s it to ya”? That almost earned me a lap or two around the table.

Sometimes a guy has to suck it up and live on the edge. Regardless of the outcome.

jmonroe

Tip of the day, on snowy days you can change your RWD car to a FWD car fast and inexpensively simply by driving it in reverse.

Never thought of that but it would be very risky at night. And here’s another benefit of what you propose... that’s a good way to unwind the odometer. Unfortunately this now gives our poster buddy @oldfarmer50 something else to consider when buying a hooptie on CL. Now see what you’ve done?

jmonroe

Paranoia can be good for you.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

The snow so far...and could be another 10 inches tonight.....from Texas - thanks guys!

Wow, we don’t have near that much. NJ has more than us too. We must be in the lucky zone.

driver100

jmonroe1 said:

driver100 said:

jmonroe1 said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

Speaking of winter weather here is the wine we had for yesterday's Valentine's dinner in its cooler.

Don't you own a refrigerator?

Here we go. I bet dishwashers will be next.

jmonroe

.....speaking of which....does your dishwasher match your other appliances or did you do one of those whatever color is on sale things you did with the washer/dryer?

Sorry to disappoint you but when we redid the kitchen in January 2010 we got all stainless steel appliances but no two are from the same manufacturer. Is there a slight difference in the display colors, yes, but when I squint I can hardly see the difference. FWIW, I think the LG microwave will croak soon because I’ve heard popping sounds a few times, and no, I wasn’t making popcorn.

jmonroe

I'm proud of you...glad you have seen the light and at least come close to matching your appliances.

abacomike

I have been investigating maintenance plans offered by Mercedes Benz which substantially reduce the amount I would normally pay for maintenance each year. Without a maintenance plan, I would pay $375+ tax for the 1st and 3rd years, $1175 for the 2nd and 4th years. If I purchase a maintenance plan from Mercedes, it costs $1720+ tax. That's a savings of $1380 over the course of the 4 years, which is how long I plan to keep this E450.

Any comments as to whether I should go ahead with this purchase?

abacomike

@jmonroe1:

Jmonroe, I was not trying to aggravate you guys suffering from the outrageous snow and cold you have been experiencing this winter. When I saw that photo of all that snow, it brought back painful memories of shoveling and tending to my back pain as a result. I could never last very long in the kind of winter you guys are having up north - it's terrible. But at the same time, we are experiencing some of the hottest weather we've had down here in decades. We broke a temperature record this afternoon of 86 degrees, the hottest February 15th on record. It's been like this for the past 10 days. Up in the northern part of Florida (Tampa, Jacksonville, Daytona Beach, etc.), they have been experiencing some of the rainiest and coldest temps in many decades.

I spoke with my brother who lives just north of St. Augustine in Ponte Vedra and they were experiencing flooding rains and tornadoes yesterday and today and temps during the day in the 50's and 30's at night.

The Players Golf Championship, which is played the first weekend in March (just a couple of weeks from now) just 3 miles from where my brother lives in Ponte Vedra, could be quite rainy and cold.

I pray that you guys up north have better weather and be careful out there!

tjc78

roadburner said:

If you maintain a four or six cylinder RWD BMW properly and ignore the “lifetime” fluid mantra that BMW NA perpetuates you will find that they are pretty reliable.
Not nearly as exciting as some of the pulse pounding vehicles owned by other more enlightened and fortunate members - but still reliable.

abacomike said:

I have been investigating maintenance plans offered by Mercedes Benz which substantially reduce the amount I would normally pay for maintenance each year. Without a maintenance plan, I would pay $375+ tax for the 1st and 3rd years, $1175 for the 2nd and 4th years. If I purchase a maintenance plan from Mercedes, it costs $1720+ tax. That's a savings of $1380 over the course of the 4 years, which is how long I plan to keep this E450.

Any comments as to whether I should go ahead with this purchase?

What happens to the unused service if the car is totaled or you do decide to trade earlier?

driver100

tjc78 said:

roadburner said:

If you maintain a four or six cylinder RWD BMW properly and ignore the “lifetime” fluid mantra that BMW NA perpetuates you will find that they are pretty reliable.
Not nearly as exciting as some of the pulse pounding vehicles owned by other more enlightened and fortunate members - but still reliable.

abacomike said:

I have been investigating maintenance plans offered by Mercedes Benz which substantially reduce the amount I would normally pay for maintenance each year. Without a maintenance plan, I would pay $375+ tax for the 1st and 3rd years, $1175 for the 2nd and 4th years. If I purchase a maintenance plan from Mercedes, it costs $1720+ tax. That's a savings of $1380 over the course of the 4 years, which is how long I plan to keep this E450.

Any comments as to whether I should go ahead with this purchase?

What happens to the unused service if the car is totaled or you do decide to trade earlier?

The rules may be different in the U.S. but in Canada if you trade your car the pre-paid service transfers with the car, if you trade it in they credit the value on to the trade.
When my 2015 E400 got totaled by a garbage truck, Mercedes said I was out of luck...I paid but couldn't collect.
Insurance paid for a new replacement car, and the dealer gave me a credit for about $1100 for the service I paid for but didn't have........but, the dealer did alright because they got to sell me an extra car.

dino001

abacomike said:

I have been investigating maintenance plans offered by Mercedes Benz which substantially reduce the amount I would normally pay for maintenance each year. Without a maintenance plan, I would pay $375+ tax for the 1st and 3rd years, $1175 for the 2nd and 4th years. If I purchase a maintenance plan from Mercedes, it costs $1720+ tax. That's a savings of $1380 over the course of the 4 years, which is how long I plan to keep this E450.

Any comments as to whether I should go ahead with this purchase?

Taking into account the average length of your vehicle ownership - no.

nyccarguy

dino001 said:

abacomike said:

I have been investigating maintenance plans offered by Mercedes Benz which substantially reduce the amount I would normally pay for maintenance each year. Without a maintenance plan, I would pay $375+ tax for the 1st and 3rd years, $1175 for the 2nd and 4th years. If I purchase a maintenance plan from Mercedes, it costs $1720+ tax. That's a savings of $1380 over the course of the 4 years, which is how long I plan to keep this E450.

Any comments as to whether I should go ahead with this purchase?

Taking into account the average length of your vehicle ownership - no.

+1

graphicguy

roadburner said:

My ice covered driveway now has a coating of several inches of snow. My Wrangler is fitted with BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO1 tires- they are what Tire Rack refers to as All-Weather tires- non-winter tires that are marked with the three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) symbol.. So far I haven't used 4WD yet unless I'm trying to get stuck.
The Clubman also wears All-Weather rubber-the Vredestein Quatrac 5-and it also handles the ice and snow with no problem; ground clearance is the primary limitation.
The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires on the M235i also work surprisingly well, you just need to be patient and smooth with control inputs.

Have to give a nod to my Stinger. Out all day yesterday, and again this a.m. Probably 6-7” on the roads this a.m. No issues! I’ve got all-season rubber on mine, too.

abacomike

nyccarguy said:

dino001 said:

abacomike said:

I have been investigating maintenance plans offered by Mercedes Benz which substantially reduce the amount I would normally pay for maintenance each year. Without a maintenance plan, I would pay $375+ tax for the 1st and 3rd years, $1175 for the 2nd and 4th years. If I purchase a maintenance plan from Mercedes, it costs $1720+ tax. That's a savings of $1380 over the course of the 4 years, which is how long I plan to keep this E450.

Any comments as to whether I should go ahead with this purchase?

Taking into account the average length of your vehicle ownership - no.

+1

I kept the S450 for almost 3 years and I have no desire to trade this one in for at least 3 years. I only have 4700 miles on it and it’s due for its first service May14th.

driver100

dino001 said:

abacomike said:

I have been investigating maintenance plans offered by Mercedes Benz which substantially reduce the amount I would normally pay for maintenance each year. Without a maintenance plan, I would pay $375+ tax for the 1st and 3rd years, $1175 for the 2nd and 4th years. If I purchase a maintenance plan from Mercedes, it costs $1720+ tax. That's a savings of $1380 over the course of the 4 years, which is how long I plan to keep this E450.

Any comments as to whether I should go ahead with this purchase?

Taking into account the average length of your vehicle ownership - no.

+1 (might get credit if traded on another MB lease, but what if you don't trade?)
Also wonder, since you aren't driving normal miles, maybe only half, do you really need a full service every year, maybe only every 2 or 3 years to maintain the warranty.
The 2014 only goes 6000 miles a year, so it gets an oil change, but only one thing off the Plan A or Plan B list each year.
So, I would say no.....

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

I have been investigating maintenance plans offered by Mercedes Benz which substantially reduce the amount I would normally pay for maintenance each year. Without a maintenance plan, I would pay $375+ tax for the 1st and 3rd years, $1175 for the 2nd and 4th years. If I purchase a maintenance plan from Mercedes, it costs $1720+ tax. That's a savings of $1380 over the course of the 4 years, which is how long I plan to keep this E450.

Any comments as to whether I should go ahead with this purchase?

Does that cover just routine maintenance or also unforeseen breakdowns? To me any insurance plan should cover the unexpected.

graphicguy

My snow blower is about 3 years old....it’s an EGO battery model. I can’t use it because of my surgeries (at least not yet). But, my son came by last evening and got the whole driveway and sidewalks done (including the neighbors on either side). The batteries finally gave out after the 3rd house was almost finished. Pretty impressive.

Just checked this a.m. and the batteries charged up fully overnight. So, he said he’d be back after work to do it all again.

Pretty good snowblower.

driver100

graphicguy said:

roadburner said:

My ice covered driveway now has a coating of several inches of snow. My Wrangler is fitted with BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO1 tires- they are what Tire Rack refers to as All-Weather tires- non-winter tires that are marked with the three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) symbol.. So far I haven't used 4WD yet unless I'm trying to get stuck.
The Clubman also wears All-Weather rubber-the Vredestein Quatrac 5-and it also handles the ice and snow with no problem; ground clearance is the primary limitation.
The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires on the M235i also work surprisingly well, you just need to be patient and smooth with control inputs.

Have to give a nod to my Stinger. Out all day yesterday, and again this a.m. Probably 6-7” on the roads this a.m. No issues! I’ve got all-season rubber on mine, too.

Good to know GG. I have to get to the bubble to play tennis this morning, and we have about 6 inches of new snow on the roads.........which may or may not get plowed out soon. That gives me hope the E400 AWD will get through that, it hasn't seen much snow until this winter.

driver100

graphicguy said:

My snow blower is about 3 years old....it’s an EGO battery model.
Pretty good snowblower.

GG, another thing that is good to know....I had no idea they had powerful battery chargeable snow blowers. If we were in a snow area in the winter I would certainly get one.
Do you have any more info to pass on this a.m.?

dino001

oldfarmer50 said:

abacomike said:

I have been investigating maintenance plans offered by Mercedes Benz which substantially reduce the amount I would normally pay for maintenance each year. Without a maintenance plan, I would pay $375+ tax for the 1st and 3rd years, $1175 for the 2nd and 4th years. If I purchase a maintenance plan from Mercedes, it costs $1720+ tax. That's a savings of $1380 over the course of the 4 years, which is how long I plan to keep this E450.

Any comments as to whether I should go ahead with this purchase?

Does that cover just routine maintenance or also unforeseen breakdowns? To me any insurance plan should cover the unexpected.

Maintenance plans are not extended warranties, so they're not insurance, more like volume discounts/subscriptions. Mike's ownership record and driving mileage does not generate enough volume to realize substantial savings, if any.

imidazol97

Sounds like Florida got tornadoes and other hard weather out of this. But now snow.

I had the 6-8 inches on the lower part of the driveway that I hadn't shoveled part away during
the storm. THEN the city came by middle of the night and plowed the snow from the road into a
pile next to the curb on top of my 6-8 inches which is over icy stuff that never melted.

I tried to call "The Guy" like folks here suggest. But my own phone kept ringing everytime I dialed.
I answered and it was me calling. Every time. So I went out and shoveled.

I did get stuck leaving because I didn't back into the deep stuff at the end fast enough for the
momentum to carry me all the way through. So I had to clear in front of and behind the
front wheels a couple of times. One of the city snowplows went by while I was having to dig
out. He was just checking the road and not plowing. I was hoping he'd stop and help push.

I hope he was happy what they did to all the driveways.

I haven't had a heart attack so far in all these days of shoveling. I keep it low impact
and short periods of time with rest breaks in between.

qbrozen

50 degrees and raining here today, so that should, hopefully, take care of all the remaining ice. But then dropping to 20 tonight, so who the heck knows what that will do.

I drove the wife's van last night and noticed the headliner around the moonroof is wet. Great. Lovely time for the drains to be plugged. I cleaned them in the fall, so maybe just ice? Can't do anything about it right this sec, so fingers crossed.

jmonroe1

imidazol97 said:

Sounds like Florida got tornadoes and other hard weather out of this. But now snow.

I had the 6-8 inches on the lower part of the driveway that I hadn't shoveled part away during
the storm. THEN the city came by middle of the night and plowed the snow from the road into a
pile next to the curb on top of my 6-8 inches which is over icy stuff that never melted.

I tried to call "The Guy" like folks here suggest. But my own phone kept ringing everytime I dialed.
I answered and it was me calling. Every time. So I went out and shoveled.

I did get stuck leaving because I didn't back into the deep stuff at the end fast enough for the
momentum to carry me all the way through. So I had to clear in front of and behind the
front wheels a couple of times. One of the city snowplows went by while I was having to dig
out. He was just checking the road and not plowing. I was hoping he'd stop and help push.

I hope he was happy what they did to all the driveways.

I haven't had a heart attack so far in all these days of shoveling. I keep it low impact
and short periods of time with rest breaks in between.

You should have hung up after the first try and not called back again. You could have finished sooner.

jmonroe

imidazol97

jmonroe1 said:

You should have hung up after the first try and not called back again. You could have finished sooner.

jmonroe

I'm a stubborn old guy. Or a slow learner.

It's like when I forget to turn off call forwarding on my landline that goes to my cellphone. I
try calling home and the call never goes through. Then I realize I forgot to *73

driver100

jmonroe1 said:

imidazol97 said:

Sounds like Florida got tornadoes and other hard weather out of this. But now snow.

I had the 6-8 inches on the lower part of the driveway that I hadn't shoveled part away during
the storm. THEN the city came by middle of the night and plowed the snow from the road into a
pile next to the curb on top of my 6-8 inches which is over icy stuff that never melted.

I tried to call "The Guy" like folks here suggest. But my own phone kept ringing everytime I dialed.
I answered and it was me calling. Every time. So I went out and shoveled.

I did get stuck leaving because I didn't back into the deep stuff at the end fast enough for the
momentum to carry me all the way through. So I had to clear in front of and behind the
front wheels a couple of times. One of the city snowplows went by while I was having to dig
out. He was just checking the road and not plowing. I was hoping he'd stop and help push.

I hope he was happy what they did to all the driveways.

I haven't had a heart attack so far in all these days of shoveling. I keep it low impact
and short periods of time with rest breaks in between.

You should have hung up after the first try and not called back again. You could have finished sooner.

jmonroe

GG had some very useful advice today, you.....hmmmm, not so much

stickguy

My son (who lives near old farmer) said they got a bunch of ice last night. Our forecast near philly is another 5-8 inches of snow and ice Thursday into Friday. Thankfully supposed to warm up next week.

stickguy

RB, how do you like the Vredestein tires? I was considering those for the Jetta when the Bridgestone OEMs are shot.

snakeweasel

imidazol97 said:

jmonroe1 said:

You should have hung up after the first try and not called back again. You could have finished sooner.

jmonroe

I'm a stubborn old guy. Or a slow learner.

It's like when I forget to turn off call forwarding on my landline that goes to my cellphone. I
try calling home and the call never goes through. Then I realize I forgot to *73

Not many people these days have landlines at their home. We haven't had one in over 20 years. Now since we are at a work from home status they issued us cell phones that our desk phones are forwarded to. However if you call my extension at work it rings both the landline phone and the cell phone at the same time giving me the option to use the landline if I am in the office.

driver100

Yesterday I cleared all the snow off the deck. Today there was more snow on the deck than there was yesterday. The pile to the left is what was on the deck, the big pile at the front of the picture is what has accumulated on top of the barbeque. I have never seen so much snow around here!

cdnpinhead

Here's what I had to deal with a couple of weeks ago.

qbrozen

cdnpinhead said:

Here's what I had to deal with a couple of weeks ago.

And where did you go after you excavated?